What does it really help you with and is it worth getting? Been riding for a while now and lookin to gettin into a little more play....you know tossing the wheelies down the road more. No serious stunting and was wondering if a steering dampener is gonna help with keepin control of the bike and saving damage. Same concept as frame sliders, spend alittle now to potentially save alot later or wha? Ive seen alot of vids where guys come down from wheelies and go hard into their bike wobblin quickly = paivement surfing. If a steering dampener would lower the chances of those crappy landings, info/advice much appreciated.

 

Basically, that's what a steering damper is designed to do, reduce the violent head shaking that occurs when the rear wheel tries to steer the front aka tank slapper. it's for the little moments in turns when you can feel the front end start to dip and the bars snap quickly. it helps dampen (go figure, right?) the handle bar movement. it's not a sure fire prevention against tank slappers, but it helps.

my advice (since you're asking) is to STOP doing wheelies on the streets. save that for when you really want to start stunting seriously, at an off road site. it's not just the pavement you need to worry about on the streets afterall.

 

A damper is ALWAYS a good investment, I would go with the Scotts, it has high speed damping valving that is always on the job as well as being fully adjustable at the same time. [sm=shades.gif]

 

My HESD is stock and cooks a great Lobster Bisque and it does a wonderful job.It works wonders when im launchin the lights racing all those damn Subaru tuner punks who just can get it thru their thin skulls.My 1k is faster than anything they throw at me.
But beware of the CLS55....

 

Calling it a "dampener" disqualifies you from owning one...sorry to have to break the bad news...

Funny that I talk with professional racers who say that with the right suspension set up you'd never need one...but if you frequent the track/stunt all the timeand need the band aid, go for it...

I think what's going to "keep control of the bike and save damage" is the nut attached to the clip-ons...JMO

 

I have a scott's on my f4i, and I love it. But, you need to be buying it for the right reasons.

1) A steering DAMPER needs to be tuned correctly, just like your suspension. If you havent tuned your suspension, dont buy the damper.
2) It feels good to crank up the damper to the max, but it will make your steering so vague that it will harm more than help
3) If you are taking turns just fine right now, its probably going to be a waste of money.
4) Its like putting a diamond ring on your handle bars. Make sure if you park it in public, you have some kind of security system on there to prevent some *** from messing with your bike.

 

I am running an Ohlins damper on my RR and going from that bike to the 636 without a damper is night and day. The 636 NEEDS a damper! When you are pulling out of a corner hard and the front starts rearing up, it likes to wiggle it's head a bit!

 

I'm losing you. What is your point? Maybe I'm slow but what is your QUESTION? The benefits of the HESD is proven and documented and what the hell is a dampener?

 

love mine

 

Since I got my suspension setup properly I have mine dialed down to 1 (lowest setting) and I'm enjoying feeling all of the steering again. Before the setup I felt more confident with it turned up.